Clothes drying rack



Nov. 20, 1934. A, HE'I ER 1,981,268

CLOTHES DRYING RACK Filed Dec. 29, 1933 Patented Nov. 20, 1934 CLOTHES DRYING RACK Albert C. Heiser, Omaha, Nebr. Application December 29,1933, Serial No. 704,533

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a clothes drying rack designed principally for household use, but may be used to advantage in laundries when made of larger sizes.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a drying rack of such construction that it will be convenient and durable in use, and will consist of few and simple parts so that it may be practically manufactured at a limited cost.

Another object is to provide parallel spindles which may be disposed at desired angles for supporting clothing or other fabrics to attain speedy drying, and to provide a device which may be folded to occupy a limited space.

With the foregoing objects in view the invention consists of the new and useful construction, combination and arrangement of parts as described herein and claimed and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, it being understood 20 that changes may be made in form, size, proportion of parts and minor details, said changes being within the scope of the invention as claimed.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a view in end elevation, the parts being fully extended.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the device, the parts being collapsed, and Fig. 3 is an end view of the device when collapsed.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 4, the spindles being shown in their unextended position.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged plan view, showing the use of a pair of head-strips, and Fig. 7 is a section on line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Referring now to the drawing for a more particular description, the clothes drying rack consists, in part, of a pair of upright, connected rectangular supports 8 (Fig. 1), each support including a pair of end-posts 9 which are rigidly connected with each other by horizontal crossbars 10.

The pair of upright rectangular supports 8 are disposed side by side, their upper ends being pivotally connected to permit their lower ends to be disposed in spaced relation as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, and for this purpose I have used a pair of coupling-plates 11 preferably of triangular form, said plates being secured to the end posts of one of the supports 8 by means of keepers 12.

Numerals 13 indicate pivot-pins, and two of these pins are used for each plate 11, each pin traversing a coupling-plate and extending through an end-portion of a post, whereby the upper ends of the supports 8 are pivotally connected, and the pivot-pins just mentioned are also used for other purposes as will further appear.

After the posts 9 at the ends of the device have been disposed with their lower ends in spaced relation as shown in Fig. 1, they may be maintained in that position by any suitable means, a hookand staple being shown for that purpose as indicated at 14.

Numeral 15 indicates a chamfered part for one of the end posts, near the top thereof, and it will be seen that this chamfered part provides a wall which operates as a stop-member and limits an outward swinging movement of one of the end-posts relative to the other, and in operation the supports 8 may be disposed to provide a suitable base to prevent overturning.

. Numerals 16 and 17 indicate a pair of horizontal head-strips disposed side by side, each being provided at longitudinal intervals with parallel recesses 18 opening on its side, each recess of one head-strip being disposed in a vertical plane adjacent to the vertical plane of a recess of the other head-strip.

Each head-strip is rotatably mounted, its ends being engaged by the pivot-pins 13 of a support.

Numerals 19 indicate spindles which are secured at their inner ends to the head strips and extend outwardly therefrom, and these spindles are disposed at longitudinal intervals of the headstrips at right-angles thereto, each spindle of a head-strip being disposed in the vertical plane of a recess of the other head-strip.

It will be seen that when the spindles 19 project downwardly from their head-strips as shown in Figs. 5, 6 and '7 of the drawing, the recesses 18 will be disposed vertically, but when the spindles 19 are disposed horizontally as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the recesses 18 will be disposed horizontally. When it is desired to move the spindles from their inoperative to operative position each head-strip must be rotated in a circles arc of approximately 2'70 degrees.

Also it will be seen that, after the head-strips have been rotated as last mentioned, each spindle will be disposed horizontally and will lie in a recess, each spindle of one head-stripbeing supported between its ends by the other head-piece of said pair.

As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, the spindles of both head-strips may be used for holding clothes, but it is obvious that a single head-strip may be rotated for disposing its spindles in an operative position, the spindles of the other head-strip remaining in inoperative position, this feature being of advantage when drying only a limited amount of clothing is required, and it will be appreciated that, on account of the arrangement of the spindles and adjustments mentioned, an unusual containing-space for clothing is provided in proportion to the floor space occupied by the device during operation.

'It will be understood, of course, that when a single head-strip is rotated for use of a single set of spindles as last mentionedfth spindles thus moved into operative position will not lie in recesses 18 of the opposite head-strip but will engage the blank portions of said opposite headstrip. The operative position for these spindles will be practically in alignment longitudinally of the device; and transversely of thedevic' the spindles will be disposed inclinedly, this inclined position, however, not operating to prevent their use.

I claim as my invention,-

1. In a clothes drying rack, a pair of upright rectangular supports each including a pair of end-posts; said supports being disposed side by side and pivotally connected at their upper ends to permit relative movementsior disposing their 7 lower ends in spaced relation, 2. pair ,of horizontal head-strips disposed side by side each having a rotatable mounting in the upper endportions' of the'posts of a support' and provided at longitudinal intervals with parallel recesSes opening on' its side, the recesses in one headstripbeing disposed in vertical planes adjacent to the vertical planes of the'recesses'in' the other head-strip, and a plurality of spindles secured to and projecting outwardly from the head -strips, each spindle of a head-strip being disposed in the vertical plane of a recess of the other head-strip to permit the spindles of each head strip to engage in the recesses ofthe other head-strip when said head-strips have been rotated approximately three-fourths of a oircles arc.

2. In a clothes drying rack, a pair of upright rectangular supports disposed side by side, each support including a pair of end-posts, means for pivotally connecting the supports at their upper ends to permit outward swinging movements of their lower ends, apair of head-strips disposed side by side and provided at longitudinal intervals" with recesses, and a*plurality of-- spindles secured to and projecting outwardly from the head-strips, each spindle of a headstrip being disposed in the vertical plane of a recess of the other head-strip, each head-strip being mounted to permit a limited movement thereof"ina circles aroiof approximately 270 degrees, apart of each spindle between its ends of one head-strip engaging in a recess of the otherhead-strip.

3; -'In'-'a*clothes drying rack, a pair of supporting-frames each including a pair of end posts and a horizontal head-strip pivotally'mounted at its 'ends in" said "end postsand having'reces's'es at intervals opening'on one of its sides, sup: porting-frames being disposed upright with their end posts pivotally connected at "their upper ends to permit'their lower'en'dsto bedisposed in spaced relation, said head strips 'beingi'dis= posed relatively parallel with their recessed sides normallyT-acing *eachother; the recessesin said I stripsapparing alternation longitudinally thereof; ari'd a plurality of spindles extending from 'the "head-strips, each spindle of one" head strip being disposed directly'opposite to' a recess of the other head-strip, whereby'the spindles of each "head-strip may'lie 'in* the recesses of'the other head-strip-when said strips have" been rotated in" an arc of'270 degrees; Y ALBERT C. HEISER. 

